A jury found a Pennsylvania man guilty today of sexually abusing a young girl in her Raritan Township home after he met her mother on the internet, and began dating the woman.

The victim, now 18 and living out of state, testified she was sexually abused by Timothy Paziora three times between September 2000 and December 2000, when she was living in Raritan.

An ex-wife, current girlfriend and sponsor from Alcoholics Anonymous testified as character witnesses during the trial. But the jury still found Paziora, 57, of Williamsport, Pa., guilty of first-degree aggravated assault.

Paziora also was found guilty of second-degree sexual assault, and a lesser charge of third-degree endangering the welfare of a child. A grand jury originally had indicted him on a second-degree charge of child endangerment.

He now faces 10 to 20 years in state prison, with a requirement he serve 85 percent of his sentence, said Hunterdon County Assistant Prosecutor Dawn Solari, who presented the case for the state.

"We are very pleased with the jury's verdict, on behalf of the victim and her family," Solari said.

Hunterdon County Public Defender Peter Abatemarco, who is representing Paziora, said his client remains adamant that he did not commit the sexual abuse. Abatemarco accused Solari of making inappropriate remarks during her summation, and withholding information during the discovery phase of the trial.

He said planned to file motions to for a new trial, and to have the indictment dismissed.

Paziora, previously free on $75,000 bail, was returned to the Hunterdon County Jail after the jury deliberated for about two hours before finding him guilty today.

He will next be evaluated at the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center, New Jersey's prison for sex offenders in the Avenel section of Woodbrige. Judge Roger F. Mahon scheduled Paziora to be sentenced in Flemington on Sept. 5.